What is sourdough starter?
Sourdough starter a fermented live culture of flour and water. It is used as a means to leaven sourdough bread. Bread is typically made with yeast, flour and water. It replaces commercial yeast, to help the bread rise. Because the starter is rich in unique and individual microflora, the resulting sourdough bread will have its own rich, tangy and unique flavour profile. Starter is still a form of yeast, however it is made of naturally occurring wild yeast in the environment.
What do I need to make my own sourdough starter?
To make your very own sourdough starter, you only need a few ingredients and materials. You only need flour, water, scales and a jar! I recommend using filtered or bottled water if you want the flavour profile of your starter to be as controlled as possible. For flour, I’d recommend starting off with plain or bread flour if it’s your first time making a starter. You can use any jar, I recommend something clear so you can see the magic that takes place. I just use an old plastic spice jar.
Is it hard to make a starter? Does it take a lot of time?
Sourdough starter is a living being so it does require some love and care to make sure it stays happy. Most online sources say it takes about a week to produce a starter. This is true to some extent, however, from my own experiences, it takes a bit longer if you want amstarter strong enough to leaven sourdough bread.
The initial establishment of the yeast colony can take as quick as a week and you can start using the sourdough starter in different sourdough recipes but it will likely not be strong enough to bake sourdough bread with. But if you persist and care for it, it will reward you with beautiful sourdough bread down the track!
Can I make other things with sourdough starter?
Yes! There are endless possibilities and recipes with sourdough starter! When I first made my starter, I was using it for everything except sourdough bread! I made sourdough pretzels, sourdough crackers these delicious sourdough pancakes and all sorts of things.
Basic Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- 1 Jar
- 1 scales
- 1 mixing spoon
Ingredients
- 50 g flour plain or bread
- 50 g water filtered, bottled or from the tap
Instructions
- Day 1 – In your jar, mix together the flour and water, try to be accurate when weighing out the ingredients! I recommend using scales for this. Cover the jar with the lid but don't screw it on tight. Leave the jar alone undisturbed for the next 24- 48 hours. If it's winter, try to pick a warmer spot.
- Day 2 – if you're making the starter during summer or if your house is quite warm, if may be time to feed your starter. However if it's winter, continue to leave your starter be! To feed your starter, discard half (50g) the starter – this portion that gets thrown out is called the "sourdough discard" and can be used in other recipes to reduce waste. Add another 50g flour and 50g water and mix thoroughly. Replace the lid loosely again and leave it alone for another 24 hrs. The starter will bubble up and rise as the yeast gather and grow. When it's hungry it will fall back down.
- Day 3, 4, 5, 6 – feed your starter each day from day 3 onwards. Repeat the same process of discarding half and mixing in another 50g of fresh flour and water.
- Day 7 – The starter will look more bubbly than before now that it's had time to establish a healthy yeast colony. The texture will look moussey, air-y and spongey. However it might not be strong enough for bread yet. A quick test if to grab a small dollop and place it in a bowl of water, if it's floating it can be used to bake bread. If not, continue to feed your starter everyday and try the float test in 1-2 week's time! In the meantime, you can use your sourdough discard in other fun recipes to reduce wastage!
Notes
- If your sourdough starter has grey liquid at the top, it’s ok! Just throw out the top part and feed it like normal. This liquid is called “hooch” and is one of the indications your starter is quite hungry!
- If you live in a hot area, you might find you need to feed your sourdough twice a day as the warm temperature increases yeast activity.
- If your starter keeps failing the float test, some people have had luck using it to bake bread anyways, but keep feeding it and persist! It took me a few months before I had a starter strong enough for bread baking. In the meantime I had heaps of fun playing with the discard!
- If you want to reduce sourdough discard wastage, you can place your sourdough in the fridge. This will reduce feedings to roughly once a week only. However, I only recommend doing this once you have a fairly established starter as the coldness of the fridge will slow down yeast activity
- If you need to travel for some time, place your starter in the freezer to put it into a deep sleep. Once you return, defrost it and feed it like usual. It might take a few days and feedings before all the yeast wake up and return to usual activity
